This invention relates to hand-held vacuum cleaners and in particular to hand-held vacuum cleaners having improved air-flow resulting in improved performance.
AC powered hand-held vacuum cleaners have become increasingly popular in the past several years. Such cleaners are particularly useful where conventional larger size vacuum cleaners such as large canister or upright types are inconvenient for the user. Such hand-held vacuum cleaners are particularly useful in cleaning stairs and furniture. Examples of these AC powered hand-held vacuum cleaners are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,700,428 and 4,891,861.
Due to their reduced size, such hand-held vacuum cleaners, do not have the same suction power as do the larger conventional cleaners To minimize the loss of suction power, the working air path through the cleaner should be designed to provide an unobstructed, generally continuous air flow channel from the inlet nozzle to the collector bag for receiving the dirty air. Heretofore, the conventional hand-held vacuum cleaners of the type described, as exemplified by the unit illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,861, have wasted suction power by causing the working air to flow through a rather circuitous air path within the cleaner. The loss of suction power has reduced the operating efficiency of the unit.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,184,446 there is illustrated a vacuum cleaner having a motor mounted in a vertical orientation However, the illustrated cleaner is not a hand-held type, but is rather a large upright cleaner.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a hand-held vacuum cleaner having an air-flow channel which directs the air in a generally straight flow path from the inlet nozzle to the dirt collector bag.